Hitler was a failed artist who had a love for art and felt, since he and his race were superior to others, that he was entitled to art, where lesser people were not. While the rest of the world considered his systematic acts of looting museums, churches and private collections as stealing at a minimum, the Nazis actually thought they were doing history and destiny a favor by collecting the art for a higher purpose. This way, millions of works of art were taken from their rightful owners. Since those owners often died in the war or in death camps, those works were never returned.

To make matters worse, Hitler issued a Scorched Earth decree. He ordered his troops to destroy everything as they retreated, homes, factories, facilities, utilities, harvests, vehicles, bridges, railways and roads. This also included the looted art. So the Nazis, if they had time, burned or blew up the art work. Hitler believed that if the superior German people couldn’t have it, the world didn’t deserve it.

Monuments Men is a movie based on a true story about a platoon of soldiers sent by President Roosevelt, comprised of artists, art academics, architects, and curators, obviously “older” soldiers, put together as a group for the sole task of going to Europe in 1944 to save as much of Hitler’s looted art as possible and return it to the rightful owners.

Produced, directed and acted by George Clooney, supported by Matt Damon, John Goodman and Bill Murray, the movie has assembled a crew of veteran actors. They entered the war zone through Normandy Beach, after the bloody battle when it was safe, and started investigating where the Nazis had taken all the art. They encountered challenges by the military commanders who obviously were not willing to risk any men for the sake of works of art. They were held back by snipers in war-torn villages, and their efforts were blocked by the local population in France. But they made headway through sheer determination and love of their cause, recovered thousands of important works before they could be lost, and ultimately fulfilled some of their mission.

There are problems with this story, since there is not a consistent plotline that allows for a classic conflict, a climax and victory of good over evil. So the story, albeit well acted and told, is somewhat slow, and reminiscent of Oceans 11, without the drama and suspense. It flip-flops between comedy and drama, and the comedy is almost necessary to keep the movie going.

I am an artist, and I appreciate art, its value, and the impact of art on culture. Love of art comes through in this movie, and I enjoyed seeing these men light up when they saw a priceless piece of art, and I respected it when they were willing to put their lives on the line to save it.

I enjoyed the film and I liked the story. But love of art and dedication to a quest alone does not provide enough conflict to make a successful movie. As a movie, it never quite came together.

Rating: ** 1/2